1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cigarette extinguisher and more specificially to a lightweight cylindrical body which is snugly telescopingly receivable over the ignited end of a cigarette and which will extinguish the cigarette in a predetermined period of time in the event a smoker fails to draw on the mouthpiece or filter end of the cigarette.
2. Description of Related Art
Various different forms of cigarette extinguishing apparatuses including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,121,300, 1,388,200, 1,517,142, 2,177,636, 2,371,445, 2,701,571 and 3,173,425. However, these previously known forms of cigarette extinguishers do not include the overall combination of structural features incorporated in the instant invention to provide an apparatus which will dependably extinguish a lighted cigarette in a predetermined period of time in the event a smoker fails to draw air through the cigarette.
One of the most critical problems confronting developers of cigarettes has been how to produce a cigarette designed to be automatically extinguished in the event a smoker fails to draw upon the cigarette. Such a safety feature is very desirable since cigarettes are the major cause of injuries and fire deaths in residentail dwellings. The National Fire Association has concluded that cigarettes provided the heat of ignition for over 35% of one and two fatality fires in the United States from 1971 to 1978. The Association further concluded that 16.9% of the fires were caused by cigarettes igniting upholstered furniture in living room areas and 15.5% of the fires were caused by cigarettes igniting bedding in sleeping areas.
In an effort to reduce the occurence of such fires, the National Fire Association and several other significant Fire Associations have endorsed a Cigarette Safety Act which would stipulate that all cigarettes and little cigars produced in the United State should self-extinguish within five minutes if left unattended. Cigarettes will normally burn for a maximum of 24 minutes if they are left unattended. As such, proponents for such a safety feature assert that hundreds of lives could be saved and thousands of costly fires could be prevented very year if a self-extinguishing cigarette were to become a reality.
The problems associated with developing a self-extinguishing cigarette are clearly illustrated and made evident by the state of the prior art.
In this respect, references made to U.S. Pat. No. 1,517,142, issued to Allman on Nov. 25, 1924, which discloses an early attempt at developing a combined cigarette holder and extinguisher which essentially consists of a mouthpiece having a passage therethrough and into which a cigarette is positionable for smoking. A separate cap member is provided which must be carried in a user's pocket for the like and which is insertable over the cigarette and frictionally engageable with the holder so as to distinguish the cigarette and totally encase the same whereby it might be smoked at a later time. In other words, the Allman device does not relate to a self-extinguishing cigarette holder and as such does not overcome the problems above discussed.
Another device for extinguishing a cigarette is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,371,445, issued to Irvin on Mar. 13, 1945. The Irvin device consists of a cylindrical tube into which the fire end of the cigarette may be inserted when it is desired to extinguish the cigarette. The internal bore of the Irvin device is only slightly larger in diameter than a cigarette so that a close fit is obtained and small hole is provided to permit smoke to be emitted therefrom, without allowing sufficient amount of air to be directed into the interior of the device so that the cigarette may be extinguished from a lack of oxygen. Of course, this device is not related to a self-extinguishing cigarette, since once it is inserted over a cigarette, the cigarette will quickly go out and no means are provided whereby a smoker may continue to smoke his cigarette with the Irvin device attached thereto.
There has been developed at least one device which is attachable to a cigarette during smoking thereof and which permits a cigarette to be easily extinguished by a smoker if desired. In this respect, U.S. Pat. No. 2,701,571, issued to Dittrich on Feb. 8, 1955, discloses a tubular member having a mouthpiece into which a cigarette may be inserted for smoking. The tubular member completely surrounds the cigarette and at the same time is provided with a plurality of air inlet holes to support combustion associated with the cigarette. The Dittrich device is designed to prevent smoke from escaping from a cigarette through the accumulation of the same within the tubular member, whereby a smoker may draw upon the mouthpiece to pull smoke from the chamber into his lungs, while at the same time fresh air enters through the air inlet holes in the tubular chamber. A smoker may easily extinguish his cigarette by covering the inlet holes with his hand. However, as with the other above-discussed cigarette extinguishers, the Dittrich device is not self-extinguishing, i.e., a cigarette left unattended therein will continue to burn and thus this device also does not comprise operable means for affecting a self-extinguishing cigarette.